Simply a Love Story
by misscam
Summary: A shepherd finds a bandit in a barn. A different kind of story for Snow and Charming, but still simply a love story. [Slightly AU. Snow/Charming.]


Simply a Love Story  
>by misscam<p>

Disclaimer: Not my characters, just my words.

Author's note: Written for the prompt: "no curse. David finds a Snow runaway of Regina in his barn. He helps and the two fall in love and live a simple life on the farm." It kinda went from there and got a life on its own. Hope it still works for you, anon!

II

Peaceful sleep, Snow has long since learned, is a valuable commodity when on the run. All too often the sense of being hunted is enough to make any sleep restless, and all too often anything but a bed will have to do to sleep in. She's slept under trees, in caves, on grass, inside wooden stumps and on cold stone that seemed to chill her very bones.

By comparison, a barn is practically a palace. Warm, with soft hay to bury herself in and wooden walls to keep the worst of the cold out. Which is why she just couldn't resist sneaking into the tiny barn she found to catch a few hours of sleep. Just a few, she told herself.

But when she wakes, there is morning light streaming through the cracks in the walls and she can hear humming outside.

Oh no.

She leaps to her feet, already in a sprint towards the door when it opens and a young man enters. He looks utterly perplexed at seeing her, and she tries to dodge past him.

He's too quick, locking an arm around her. "Hey!"

She fights his grip, but he's strong, lifting her further into the barn. In desperation, she reaches for anything to use as a weapon, and manages to curl her fingers around something hard. A tool of some kind, she thinks, and slams it into his face as hard as she can.

She hits his chin, and he groans, letting go of her. Immediately, she dives for the door, but he's already diving for her, and they end up in a heap in the hay.

He's breathing hard, blue eyes staring down at her and finally seeing her properly now that her cloak has fallen off her face.

"You're a girl," he says in wonder.

"Woman," she corrects, and he stares at her for a few moments. Then he seems to realized that he has her pinned underneath him, her body pressed against his, and he hurriedly gets to his feet.

"Sorry," he says, still staring at her. "I thought you were stealing the sheep, or something."

"I'm not a sheep bandit," she says, feeling slightly affronted.

"Who are you then?" he asks.

"I'm Sn... Frosty," she says, and his lips turn upwards in a lopsided grin that makes his whole face light up.

"Frosty?" he repeats, sounding amused. "Is that the best fake name you can come up with?"

She crosses her arms. "Aren't you a real Prince Charming. Do you mock every sleeping woman you find in your barn?"

"You're the first," he assures her.

She rolls her eyes slightly. "Charming, _Charming_."

He just grins, then turns serious. "Are you on the run from someone?"

She swallows, and he must see something in her expression from the way his face softens.

"It's fine," he says softly. "Mother and I won't harm you. You can stay here as long as you like."

She looks around the barn. This is clearly a poor farm, yet he's just offered a stranger to stay forever if need be. Maybe he really is a Prince Charming.

"I couldn't..." she begins, but he holds up a hand.

"Please," he says softly. "At least stay for breakfast. You look starved."

She feels starved, and so very tired, and something in his face makes her actual feel welcome.

"Please," he says again, his hand brushing hers for a moment.

"All right, Charming," she says, and he grins happily.

"I have a name, you know," he says.

"Charming suits you," she points out, and he smiles again. He really has a lovely smile, she has come to realize, one that makes her want to smile right back at him.

"I'm David," he says.

"Nice to meet you, David," she says softly.

"Nice to meet you, Frosty," he counters, and they both laugh.

"You can call me... Mary... No, Margaret," she says, wondering how her real name would sound on his lips.

"Mary Margaret," he says, tasting it. "I like it. Would you like to have breakfast with my mother and I, Mary Margaret?"

"I'd love to," she says, and means it.

II

David's mother is called Ruth, and Snow sees right away where he gets his kindness from. His mother doesn't even seem to mind that Snow has actually scarred her son, leaving a mark on his chin, just joking that it will give him character.

They are poor, but still offer her a feast by their standards, and insist she stays at least a few days until the cold spell passes. No one will think to look for her here, they both assure her, even not knowing who she is running from or why.

She didn't realize just how starved she had been for kindness as well, and so, she agrees to stay. Just for a few days. Just that.

"You can have my bed," David offers, giving her a strangely erotic vision of sleeping in his warmth.

"No," she says firmly. She doesn't want to take anything from them, from him. "I sleep in the barn and I help out on the farm every day I'm here, or I'm not staying."

Ruth smiles. "It seems you've found someone as stubborn as you are, my son."

"It seems so," he says, and his gaze is warm.

II

Farm work, Snow learns, is hard work,almost as hard work as surviving in the forest being hunted by her step-mother. But just almost, and she finds working alongside Ruth in the kitchen or David in the barn like a rest.

David cares about his sheep. She can see it in how he interacts with then, how he looks after the one injured, how he feeds them. He takes a quiet sort of pride in it too, being a shepherd, and she already knows he is a damn good one.

He would be good at a lot of things, she imagines. He might be a shepherd, but she could easily see him be a leader or a prince. He has a quiet sort of strength she thinks would fit it.

On the first day, Ruth teaches her how to churn butter and smoke meat, while David teaches her how to shear sheep and treat wool. It makes her wonder if maybe, maybe if she escaped to another kingdom far enough away, she could get her own farm and just live there in peace. She might even be happy.

(She feels happy here.)

On the second day, she goes with them to the village to trade a sheep for supplies, making sure to keep herself well hooded and out of sight most of the time. If Ruth and David notice, they don't comment on it.

It seems a nice, quiet village, with at least one tavern David makes a stop at. At first she wonders if he has a girl there, but Ruth comments on how stubborn her son is about finding true love and not settling for anything less.

"Do you believe in true love?" she asks Ruth, remembering a young princess who were taught that true love was magic. It seems like such a lifetime ago.

"For my son, yes," Ruth says quietly, smiling at her. "When he loves, he loves truly."

Snow can only nod, feeling something like a lump in her throat as David exists the tavern with two mugs of hot chocolate for them. With cinnamon, as it turns out, a bit of a local specialty.

She loves it, sipping it all the way back to the farm and letting it warm her hands while Ruth and David talk happily and warm her heart as well.

On the third day, it snows too much to do anything, so they sit inside while Ruth tells her the story of her son standing up to Bo Peep, and Snow knows she was right about his strength. He just needs something to fight for, she thinks.

"I'll always be grateful to Joan for what she taught my son," Ruth says, and Snow thinks she isn't just talking about sword skills.

It also makes her think about what she might teach him. She is a good hunter, so they spend the fourth day in the forest with her as a teacher and he as a somewhat diligent student. (When he doesn't seem busy just looking at her, that is.) She teaches him how to judge the trajectory of an arrow, how to hold his breath and how to track his prey.

When he fells a small deer, her grins delightedly at her, and she feels his triumph as her own – especially when he lifts her up and spins her around in excitement.

When he finally puts her down on her feet, she feels almost dizzy and somehow, her hands have found their way to his chest.

"Thank you," he tells her sincerely. "This will help me keep mother and I fed through the winter. Thank you."

Regina is offering an award for her capture that would keep him and his mother fed for a lifetime, she thinks guiltily, and her smile falters. Carefully, she steps out of his arms and feels the loss like an ache to his heart.

"Mary Margaret..." he says, but she just shakes her head and they leave it there, so many things unspoken.

II

They smoke the deer meat and treat the leather on the fifth day, and Snow watches mother and son talk excitedly about all they can make of this and how they'll get through the winter – plans now including her, she realizes.

A winter here. A winter with David and his mother. That wouldn't just be a danger to them, but to her heart as well.

She has to leave. She has to leave _now_.

So, makes a scribbled note that evening, thanking them for everything and leaving the rest unsaid. Even so, she can't quite help the few tears that escape her as she writes, and maybe that will tell them something too.

She leaves the note in the hay, and walk out into the evening, only to find Charming walking towards the barn and her, looking excited. In his hands she can see a fine leather and wool cloak, and she realizes he's made it for her.

Oh no.

He takes one look at her tear-streaked face, and his expression falls.

"You're leaving," he says.

"Yes," she says.

He closes his eyes, looking pained. "Don't."

"I have to," she says, stepping up to him. "You don't know what kind of danger you're in, having me here."

He stares at her, his blue eyes piercing. "Don't I, Snow White?"

She gasps. "How did you..."

"There were posters in the tavern," he says quietly. "You're wanted by the Evil Queen, I gather."

"The charges on the posters are false," she says, and he nods, as if he knows. "But the reward..."

"I would never give you up," he swears hotly, looking angry at the very notion.

"I know," she says, stepping closer. Somehow, she does know that. He wouldn't. Ruth wouldn't. "But others might."

"Snow..." he says, and her name sounds so sweet on his lips she has to taste it. Impulsively, she leans forward and kisses him.

He goes still, and she feels his sharp intake of breath like a caress across her lips. Then he is kissing her back gently, and she revels in how his lips are warm, full and slightly parted against her own.

His eyes are dark as she pulls back, and she can see the longing and pain in them, a mirror of her own.

"Charming," she says, brushing her finger across the wound on his chin. It will leave a scar, she knows, a permanent reminder of her on him.

"I'll find you," he promises, pulling the cloak around her shoulders. A parting gift, she thinks. "Sooner or later, I'll find you again."

"I almost believe that," she tells him, and he smiles faintly.

Then she turns around and leaves, not daring to look back.

II

She spends three miserable months in the forest. She makes sure Regina's guards almost catches her a few times, all of them far, far away from David's farm to ensure no one will think to ask around in that area.

She even considers letting herself be caught for real. It would end it, and maybe it would give Regina enough closure to allow her to heal.

Maybe.

She does want to live, though. She does. The problem is, it's becoming increasingly clear to her that this isn't living. This is surviving.

And she misses him. Foolishly, she misses him. They just spent a few days together, yet she can't seem to get him out of her head. She wonders about how he's doing, if he misses her as much as she misses him, if he and Ruth are safe and well.

Winter turns to spring, and she knows something has to give.

II

Foolishly, she walks into an ambush. A trader in a local village she has come to trust turns out to want the reward after all, and has tipped off Regina's guards to their meeting spot in the forest. Snow fights valiantly, but even so, she finds herself overpowered and on her knees.

"The Queen will reward me handsomely for your heart," one of the guards says, and Snow closes her eyes, thinking of who truly has her heart. At least he will be truly safe now.

"Let he go," a voice says, and she opens her eyes in shock. She knows that voice.

He is cloaked, but she knows it's Charming charging at them. Charming, wielding a sword and looking even more gorgeous than in her memories – or maybe that's the being saved from certain death talking.

She elbows the guy holding her while he's still surprised, grabbing the dagger on the floor to knock him out with the handle before he can regain his sense. Charming has already knocked out one guard, dodging blows from the last two, and she throws herself at one of them with passion.

They won't harm Charming. They _won't_.

The guard looks taken aback by her fierceness, and she manages to pull his helmet off and bang him into the wall with a force that sends her flying backwards as well. Charming looks like he has control of the last one, tripping him to the ground with a quick smile from under the hood at her, and...

Not the last one, she suddenly remembers. There was one more. The one with the bow.

Oh.

He already has an arrow ready, she notices, aiming for her heart. She has enough time to close her eyes, not wanting to see Charming's expression when realizing what is happening. She wants to remember him smiling, and how bright it makes his face.

She hears the arrow fly, and moments later, a sharp cry of pain as it hits. But it isn't her cry.

Charming.

In horror, she opens her eyes to see Charming at her feet. He has an arrow firmly embedded in his shoulder, and is clutching it in pain. Even so, he is smiling.

She doesn't think; she just charges at the guard with the bow in rage. He is still staring at Charming, not seeing her coming, so she tackles him to the ground and slams his head against the nearest hard object. He goes out like a light, and without even catching her breath, she moves back to Charming.

"Hey," he says, smiling up at her. "Told you I would find you."

She wants to yell at him, hug him and laugh at him all at once. So she settles for kissing him fiercely instead, arrow still in his shoulder and all.

He smiles into the kiss, lifting his uninjured arm to her neck to press her even closer. They kiss and kiss, greedily and hungrily, and more than a touch breathlessly.

One of the guard groans, and Snow breaks the kiss despite Charming growling in protest.

"Come on," she tells him firmly, taking his hand in hers. As meekly as a sheep (with the heart of a lion), he follows her, occasionally grunting in pain.

II

She takes him to one of her emergency shelters, one she is reasonably sure will be safe for the evening. Though she will have to give up this area of the forest now, and find yet a new place to hide.

She gets Charming into her make-shift bed and out of his ridiculous dark cloak and shirt, giving him something to bite into when she yanks the arrow out. She can hear his muffled curses, then pained gasps as she washes the wound and applies an ointment and an emergency bandage made out of one of her old shirts. Through it all, she tries to ignore the smoothness of his skin, and the way he tries to steal kisses while she's trying to nurse him.

Finally, she's satisfied and tucks him under both their cloaks, and gives him a hard kiss he sighs happily at.

"Don't you ever do that again," she tells him firmly, moving to lie down under the cloaks next to him. He shifts her onto his uninjured shoulder, and after a moment of hesitation, she rests her head there and puts her hand on his chest.

"Which part, finding you or taking an arrow?" he asks dryly.

"Taking an arrow," she says firmly.

"Does that mean I'm allowed to find you?" he says, and she lifts her head to look at him.

"Always," she promises. "How did you find me?"

"I've been tracking you for weeks," he says softly. "I was at a tavern last night and heard a guy bragging about selling you out."

"Oh," she says. She bites her lip. "Why have you been tracking me for weeks?"

"Why do you think?" he says, and her breath catches. Then he is kissing her tenderly, lovingly, caressing her lips with his own. "I couldn't get you out of my head."

"Me neither," she confesses, and he smiles so happily her breath catches.

"Come back with me, Snow," he murmurs. "I don't care about the danger."

"But your mother..."

"Kicked me out of the door and told me to find you."

"Oh," she says, laughing slightly. "Charming..."

"Come home with me," he insists, kissing her again.

Home, she thinks. Not the farm, as much as she loved it there. No. Home is with him, wherever he is.

"Okay," she agrees, and feels him smile into the kiss.

II

They spend the night talking. Charming tells her about his father, and she tells him about her mother, knowing he'll understand the loss. She tells him about her father as well, and Daniel, and Regina, and he kisses away her tears and strokes her back.

It is a strange thing, she thinks, to be so vulnerable and yet feel so safe at the same time.

(True love, she doesn't quite dare think.)

In the morning, he tucks a snowbell into her hair and tells her it's for luck, and she marvels at how lucky she was to fall asleep in his barn of all places.

II

They spend two weeks getting back. One week making a detour to be obviously spotted in another part of the kingdom, being quite amused at the stories circulating about Snow White and her mysterious dark-cloaked suitor. One week very carefully making their way to the farm, hopefully not being spotted at all.

The farm isn't quite as she remembers it, without the snow, seeming somewhat brighter with the greening grass and spring sunlight. But Ruth is as she remembers, hugging her enthusiastically the moment they're spotted.

"Thank you for coming back with him," Ruth whispers into her ear. "You're all I ever wanted for him."

"A runaway bandit?" Snow jokes awkwardly, and Ruth pulls back to smile at her.

"His true love," Ruth says firmly, and Snow can't make herself argue it.

II

In the evening, Ruth excuses herself to visit a neighbor for the night, an obvious excuse to leave them alone that all three know is exactly that.

Charming just smiles at it, then takes Snow's hand and leads her into the barn. It's been covered with flowers, she notices, probably done while she was eating dinner with Ruth. So early in spring, it's mostly snowbells, but that feels just right.

Even if she knows it's coming, she still inhales sharply as Charming kneels and holds out a ring. It's lovely, a green-stone set in silver. She's seen his mother wear it, so she knows this proposal has at least one blessing behind it.

"Will you marry me?" he asks, and she holds out her hand. Gently, he slips the ring on her finger, and it feels right, so very right.

"What do you think?" she jokes, and he grins as she pulls him up for a kiss. Impulsively, he lifts her up and spins her around, and she laughs into the kiss until they both fall into the nearest pile of hay.

He winces slightly as they land, and she moves her fingers to his shoulder, pulling the shirt down enough to expose the wound from the arrow. Even if it's healing, it's still red and swollen.

"Does your shoulder still hurt?" she asks him softly, brushing the wound with her fingers. It does; she can see it in his eyes. "Maybe I can kiss it better?"

He swallows and nods, watching her as she moves to straddle him and unbutton his shirt. Gently, she begins to pepper kisses across his chest while he watches. Every now and then she makes a detour to kiss his lips as well, earning soft moans every time.

"Snow," he says thickly.

"Don't tell me to stop," she says, and the heat in his gaze makes her skin feel ablaze.

"We aren't married yet," he points out, kissing her finger with his ring on.

"We're engaged," she counters, and he makes a sort of happy sigh that sounds like a surrender.

"My stubborn fiance," he murmurs affectionately, kissing her with so much affection it makes her toes curl and her breath catch.

II

This is what love can be as well, Snow discovers. Just skin, just her and Charming, caresses and touches and kisses and heat, so much beat between them.

This is lust, desire, passion and want, and she feels it all.

II

In the morning, she wakes in Charming's arms and to Charming's kisses, and feels at home, blissfully, gloriously at home.

She could spend a life like this, she thinks happily.

II

They get three weeks.

Three weeks planning their wedding, working side by side on the farm, living, spending each night blissfully in each other's arms – and then someone called Rumpelstiltskin shows up and demands David pretend to be a dead twin brother David didn't even know he had.

Prince James, apparently. Snow has heard of him, and nothing good. Apparently Ruth had twins, and sold one to the childless King George through Rumpelstiltskin, wanting both of them to have their best chance.

Ruth looks guilty in a way that makes Snow ache for her, and even more for Charming, who just looks hurt and confused.

At least until Rumpelstiltskin threatens Ruth's life and to expose Snow's hiding place to the Queen. She can see the flash of anger in Charming's eyes, but also the fear.

So she knows what he's going to do the moment he decides to. She can see it in his eyes, painfully so.

He pulls Rumpelstiltskin to one side, talking quietly but angrily and making the Dark One giggle several times. Finally, he nods and Charming's shoulders slump as if relaxing and feeling defeated at once.

She lets him talk to Ruth first, walking into the barn where the Dark One can't watch her cry. It hurts, it hurts so much she can barely breathe.

She hears Charming enters, and he embraces her without a word and just holds her for a long, long time.

"Hey," he finally says, taking her hands. "I made a deal with him. You and mother will be safe here as long as I pretend to be Prince James. The Queen won't find you."

"You think I care about that?" she says angrily. "I would happily spend my days dodging arrows from the Queen's guards if it meant spending them with you."

He smiles sadly, brushing away a tear with his fingertips. "I know. I love you."

"Love means staying together," she murmurs, wondering how it's possible to feel so much pain her whole heart seems to ache with it.

"Love also means sacrifice," he says quietly. "I have to keep you safe."

She closes her eyes, leaning forward blindly to kiss him. He sighs into the kiss, pulling her as close as he can and clinging to her. They kiss, and kiss, not caring about the tears they're both shedding.

"If I find a way to keep you safe and return, I will," he promises.

"I will find you," she promises in return.

Abruptly, he pulls away, pressing his forehead against hers for a moment. Then he's walking away briskly, not looking back.

II

An hour later, bundled into the cloak Charming made for her, Snow sits in Ruth's kitchen and thinks. Ruth is fussing around her, constantly apologizing and wringing her hands, but Snow isn't really listening.

"I know King George," Snow finally says, tonelessly. "He'll want Charming to marry a princess."

"Snow..."

"He'll threaten Charming with our lives," Snow goes on.

"David loves you," Ruth says softly, cradling Snow's hands in hers. "That's why I gave him my ring to propose to you. True love follows that ring. I told him. He loves you, Snow."

"Yes," Snow says, closing her eyes against the pain and pleasure of that knowledge. "I love him too. But love is..."

She thinks of Cora, of Daniel, of Regina, of a young girl being manipulated.

"Love can also be used as a weapon," she finishes, looking down at the ring on her finger. "King George will want a princess for his 'son' and he'll use whatever it takes to make sure it happens. Our love included."

Ruth is watching her, looking slightly puzzled. "Snow? What are you thinking?"

"That it's time to stop being a bandit," Snow White says.

II

Rumpelstiltskin is waiting for her, giggling the moment he sees her. Snow doesn't care.

"How can I help the fairest of them all?" he asks, waving his hands theatrically.

"Why would you want to help me?" she asks suspiciously.

"I'm a fan of true love, dearie. And more importantly, of what it creates. Now tell me, how are you planning to be reunited with that shepherd of yours?"

She tells him; he giggles all the way through it.

II

The ball King George has thrown to announce that his son is getting married (even if the 'son' doesn't know that is the purpose for the ball) is a rather grand affair for a kingdom Snow knows for a fact is close to bankruptcy.

There is a grand feast, impressive if old decorations, several rooms worth of royalty invited and of course, the prince himself.

Snow watches him from the shadows. She hasn't seen him for weeks, drinking him in. They've dressed him up, and she has to admit he does look good as a prince. He just also looks utterly, utterly miserable.

Charming, she thinks, and aches with it.

King George steps into the middle of the room, and the noise dies down. Charming looks at him suspiciously, though she knows he isn't expecting the coming announcement. In his heart, he's still engaged to his bandit back at the farm.

"Thank you all for coming," George says, and she grits her teeth at the sound of how pleased he is with himself. "As you all know, my son slew a dragon several weeks ago and saved the kingdom."

Charming grimaces. She imagines him in danger, and feels like taking on the dragon herself. Then again, Charming probably won't be too happy hearing about all the danger she's been in these last few weeks.

Still, it will be worth it. For him.

"It also reminded my son of his royal responsibilities," George goes on, and Charming looks up sharply. Is he expecting what is coming after all? "As such, it is my pleasure to announce the engagement of my son Prince James..."

"_Father,_" Charming hisses angrily, but George pays him no heed.

"To Princess Snow White," George finishes, and the room falls deadly quiet.

That's her cue, Snow thinks, and steps out of her cloak and out of the shadows. Charming looks stunned, even more so when he sees her in the ball gown Rumpelstilskin has conjured up.

"Thank you, King George," Snow says sweetly. Everyone is gawking at her. Time to play the part she and George have agreed upon. "As you may be aware, my step-mother has unfairly claimed my crown and now rules my kingdom ruthlessly. It is my intention to reclaim my kingdom, and I have spent weeks rallying troops against the woman you all know as the Evil Queen."

George smiles at her. It took a lot of convincing when she first came to him, but the prospect of marrying Charming to her kingdom eventually won him over. He can't deny she's a princess, after all.

"I am very thankful for King George's support," she says, managing to keep her voice even. "Even more so for his son, who has offered his unwavering support from the moment we met. I am delighted to be engaged to him."

Charming has been slowly walking towards her since she started speaking, looking utterly transfixed. Despite her calm voice, she has to admit her heart is pounding in her chest.

"Prince..." she begins, and then he is kissing her fiercely. She can hear the shocked gasps around them, but she doesn't care. She kisses him back just as fiercely, feeling his arms go around her to lift her slightly.

They're both breathless by the time he lowers her back on her feet, and people are talking around them in hushed whispers. Well. At least no one will think it's just an arranged marriage, she supposes.

Gently, she pulls him into the corner, where no one will be able to overhear them even if they're still somewhat visible.

"Snow," he murmurs, saying her name like a caress. It always is with him, she realizes. "My stubborn fiance."

"Charming," she says, brushing her finger across his scar.

"I wanted you to be safe," he says, but he doesn't sound angry. He actually sounds rather pleased.

"So did I when I left you," she reminds him. "Do you remember what you did then?"

"Found you," he admits, giving her that lopsided grin.

Found her and offered her his life, she remembers, smiling happily at the memory. She would have been happy spending a lifetime with him on his farm, she knows that. They would have had a happy, quiet life together, and she would have loved every moment of it. She would have been happy.

She can still be happy.

It will just have to be a different kind of life, a different kind of story for Snow and Charming. Just as long as it's a story of them together. Just as long as it's simply a love story with happily ever after.

"Now we're even," she says softly, and he kisses her nose. Time to offer him her life. "Prince Charming, will you marry Princess Snow White and help her oust the Evil Queen and regain her kingdom, ruling together with her until death do you part?"

"What do you think?" he jokes, and she kisses him again.

FIN


End file.
